MCPS elementary these days...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two children are 5 years apart, attended Bethesda Elementary School, and the oldest had the most crowded classrooms. I well remember his disastrous first grade with 31 kids! The youngest attended after the addition and had to deal with more students total, but had smaller class sizes.

I think it's luck of the draw, OP. Now my kids are in their freshman year of college and middle school. I know there's crime and violence at BCC and the usual middle school shenanigans. It's always been that way, but there are spikes of trouble every now and then, at various schools, so if your kid is unlucky and gets a bad year, it's easy to worry that schools are going downhill.

You might consider the following to aid in your decision:

1. Privates may enforce more discipline, and weed out kids with problematic behaviors, so classrooms are quieter and possibly smaller.

2. MCPS has the CES, magnets, and advanced tracks in middle and high school, therefore more ability to accelerate precocious students, that only the very top privates can match.

3. If your child needs an IEP/504, services and accommodations, privates are not required to offer anything, but publics are, and they do. Sometimes very well indeed (one of my kids had an IEP).

4. Money. It deserves its own discussion. What does "if money is not an issue" really mean? A private school parent will always assess their child's experience relative to how much they're spending. A refrain you'll hear a lot is: I'm happy, but not 30-60K happier than I was before! Invested in the stock market, that money would have provided much reassurance for college tuition, or your kids' downpayment on a home, or your retirement, or eldercare costs... is private a better choice than other priorities in your life? Nowadays colleges are very selective, and college costs have on average risen faster than inflation. State universities cost 30-40K a year total, but only if your kid gets in. Kids need very good grades now to get to UVA and UMD. Private universities are in the 70-100K a year. Merit aid is given to top students. If "money is not an issue", financial aid is likely off the table - that's how you get donut hole families who are middle class but can only pay for in-state college.

Maybe you can afford one K-12 private, 3 college costs, and have millions for retirement. But most people, even on this board, do not. I have a net worth of 15M and my two kids are/will be MCPS products. They can pick the college they want (65K a year for the oldest, he got merit aid at a 85K a year university).

Used to be true of CES but not any more. MCPS's lowering of the admissiomn standards for high FARMS schools and turning admission into a lottery has left us really disappointed with the program. It's not much different than our home ES - probably worse in many aspects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

Green Acres
Sandy Spring
Holton Arms
Georgetown Day
Potomac
Flint Hill
Sidwell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If money was no object and there was a very diverse non-elitist private school that taught the way I think kids should be taught, then it would be private school without a thought.

I don’t know of any private school like that in this dmv region. I would probably hire top-notch tutors.

I am very happy with my DC’s mcps school but that’s because it’s a magnet with a great diverse, self-selected cohort.

Green Acres
Sandy Spring
Holton Arms
Georgetown Day
Potomac
Flint Hill
Sidwell

PP said very diverse non-elitist.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]My two children are 5 years apart, attended Bethesda Elementary School, and the oldest had the most crowded classrooms. I well remember his disastrous first grade with 31 kids! The youngest attended after the addition and had to deal with more students total, but had smaller class sizes.

I think it's luck of the draw, OP. Now my kids are in their freshman year of college and middle school. I know there's crime and violence at BCC and the usual middle school shenanigans. It's always been that way, but there are spikes of trouble every now and then, at various schools, so if your kid is unlucky and gets a bad year, it's easy to worry that schools are going downhill.

You might consider the following to aid in your decision:

1. Privates may enforce more discipline, and weed out kids with problematic behaviors, so classrooms are quieter and possibly smaller.

2. MCPS has the CES, magnets, and advanced tracks in middle and high school, therefore more ability to accelerate precocious students, that only the very top privates can match.

3. If your child needs an IEP/504, services and accommodations, privates are not required to offer anything, but publics are, and they do. Sometimes very well indeed (one of my kids had an IEP).

4. Money. It deserves its own discussion. What does "if money is not an issue" really mean? A private school parent will always assess their child's experience relative to how much they're spending. A refrain you'll hear a lot is: I'm happy, but not 30-60K happier than I was before! Invested in the stock market, that money would have provided much reassurance for college tuition, or your kids' downpayment on a home, or your retirement, or eldercare costs... is private a better choice than other priorities in your life? Nowadays colleges are very selective, and college costs have on average risen faster than inflation. State universities cost 30-40K a year total, but only if your kid gets in. Kids need very good grades now to get to UVA and UMD. Private universities are in the 70-100K a year. Merit aid is given to top students. If "money is not an issue", financial aid is likely off the table - that's how you get donut hole families who are middle class but can only pay for in-state college.

Maybe you can afford one K-12 private, 3 college costs, and have millions for retirement. But most people, even on this board, do not. I have a net worth of 15M and my two kids are/will be MCPS products. They can pick the college they want (65K a year for the oldest, he got merit aid at a 85K a year university).






[/quote]

OP here. Thank you. We can’t do more than 10k a year, therefore Catholic would be. Seems like they offer a bit more wiggle room in the way they teach, have a bit more flexibility than the MCPS curriculum. I don’t want my kid kits to learn her academics.. ideally she would love learning and enjoy the experience of school, not just get grades to get grades. Yes Catholics may be a bit more strict on discipline but the ones we like have positive discipline approach.. and tbh aren’t like how Catholic schools used to be (I work at one in DC). We also like the smaller school setting and the sense of community it offers

[Anonymous]

I don't think you're going to get what you're looking for at $10k, OP.

[Anonymous]

You,also have to wonder about what they're teaching and not teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you're going to get what you're looking for at $10k, OP.

Agree. What’s the point of paying higher property taxes if you aren’t going to use the public school system? 10k is nothing in Montgomery County, you’ll get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

MCPS feels like a lottery right now. It’s so poorly managed that your school could go from great to terrible over one summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you're going to get what you're looking for at $10k, OP.

Agree. What’s the point of paying higher property taxes if you aren’t going to use the public school system? 10k is nothing in Montgomery County, you’ll get what you pay for.

It’s the only ethical position. You should not support a system that you feel is not in support of your offspring. When enough folks follow you the con stops.

[Anonymous]

Disagree. Pulled child from MCPS about five years ago for Catholic and paid a little less (pre-inflation it probably was this). Very pleased with facilities, education and overall care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disagree. Pulled child from MCPS about five years ago for Catholic and paid a little less (pre-inflation it probably was this). Very pleased with facilities, education and overall care.

Which Catholic school?

[Anonymous]

If money wasn’t an object OP wouldn’t be asking the question. So obviously money is an object and likely very much so.

There is a lot that goes with private education. So if all you can spend is 10k, you better get prepared. Tuition goes up 2-5% every year and tuition prices rise with the stages of education. Admission is not guaranteed.

I also agree with another PP that MCPS’ decline is greatly exaggerated, especially in comparison with other public school districts.

Nothing is perfect and private isn’t a panacea. Choose the right thing for your kid and family.

[Anonymous]

If money is a concern, I'd stick it out through elementary and go private in middle school. Middle schools are beyond awful right now.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Actually we found a sweet little school for 10k. Do we have to volunteer more as a family? Sure. But that’s also kind of what we are looking for; more involvement with the school. They are Catholic but 40 % of the kids there arent. They are as inclusive as they can be and if something is “missing” our kid will get that at home. They offer accelerated math in older years and work hard and Qing commitment with kids with learning differences. It may not be perfect but we can always switch back to public if we wanted to go back.

[Anonymous]

with*